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Archive: August 2016

WEST COAST COOLER FASHIONWEEK AW16 LAUNCH

17 August 2016

After a successful ‘coming-of-age’ 21st season in Spring, West Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK returns this autumn for four days of fantastic fashion from 20-23 October, with nightly catwalk shows and array of fabulous fringe events including Style Sunday as well as the West Coast Cooler flat lay event, the new addition of the Ju-Tox blogging event, plus a positive body image seminar for young girls in association with Little Women and a brand new ‘People’s Catwalk’ event on Saturday 22 October which allows anyone to join the catwalk and experience a full ‘day in the life of a model’.

Brand manager Laura Blair from title sponsors West Coast Cooler said: “Here at West Coast Cooler our brand is going from strength to strength alongside FASHIONWEEK, with amazing campaigns like our #WCCStyleSquad which integrate our audience with our brand activity – and we can see that the fashion week fans love it! This season we’ve tapped into the Instagram generation’s love of a good flat lay photo of their favourite outfit and we’ll be hosting an event to find the most stylish outfit of the day (#OOTD) which could end up being part of our ad campaign.”

On the event as a whole, director Cathy Martin added: “With a whole host of fabulous fashion events for all ages and stages in life plus amazing international sponsors including West Coast Cooler, Senna make up, ALFAPARF Milano Professional Haircare and Citroen as our official car partner, this event is truly leading in the fashion game!”

Style proceedings will continue with the High Street Heaven show on Friday 21 October, bringing the latest looks from the nation’s biggest and busiest high street stores including Next, Remus Uomo, Marks & Spencer, Oasis, DV8 Fashion and not forgetting everyone’s favourite lingerie brand Boux Avenue. Alongside these names fashion favourites George at ASDA will return plus an amazing range retailers from CastleCourt, including Designers at Debenhams, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins among others.

Saturday 22 August sees the addition of the Ju-Tox blogging event hosted by James Butler (AKA James Patrice) [more info to be released!] as well as the new People’s Catwalk, in which individuals can join the catwalk and spend the day living life as a model – with hair and make up applied by the experts, catwalk training and a photoshoot with a top fashion photographer, plus the opportunity to walk the FASHIONWEEK catwalk at the end of the evening.

Director Cathy Martin explains: “We get requests all the time from people wanting to be catwalk models or those wanting to do a photoshoot just like a model, so we’ve created a one-day workshop with a difference and we’re looking for people at all ages and stages of life – from those in their teens to their twilight years – who would like to come and play at being a model for the day. We’ve already had plenty of diversity on our catwalks in terms of size and shape, age and gender, and we want to encourage more of this as we focus on positive body image and style at any size.

“And speaking of body image, we’ve also teamed up with Little Women to deliver a positive body image seminar for 7-10 year olds as part of their on-going life development programme for young girls. This will take place at the main BFW show venue at Life Church and we’re expecting around 20 girls to attend.”

Lastly, the schedule will close, as always, in sumptuous style with the flagship Style Sunday luncheon at Deane’s at Queen’s on 23 October. This glamorous four course gourmet luncheon, which is run in association with Action Cancer, accompanies trend forecasts, a mini fashion show and a mini masterclass from FASHIONWEEK’s hair, style and make up partners. Deane’s at Queen’s chefs will deliver a delicious meal while guests enjoy designer fashion from Blush boutique in Belfast as well as accessories from Stella and Dot. The charity lunch costs £45.00 per person and places can be booked directly through the restaurant on 028 9038 2111.

Decoding the details of this season’s trends FASHIONWEEK director Cathy Martin said: “This is definitely proving to be my favourite Autumn/Winter season to date thanks to the array of super chic styles.

"We have the grungy Biker Babe who loves to lavish herself in leather and studs, as well as fashion for magpie types with an eye for a flash of metallic sheen. It doesn't matter whether you choose full-on sequins or a more subtle shimmer, just as long as you're shining, you're doing it right.

“Ruffles and flowing frills from Spring/Summer are spilling over into Autumn, but in richer fabrics and colours. Knitwear is 3-dimensional - with chunky and textured being the key words here. Velvet’s the key fabric to note this season, so think malevolent glam that is both fierce and feminine. Wear it crushed, coloured or top-to-toe and you’ll be runway ready.

“A personal favourite of mine is the ‘head-to-toe’ trend, where one colour is worn throughout the outfit. And speaking of colour, Burgundy is big, as is mink with variations on nude and blush remaining – and these are easy colours to wear head to toe, but the more daring can go for head-to-toe gold.

“Taking to outerwear, think British heritage with big, bold and beautiful Mackintosh coats alongside tweed jackets and blazers plus Sherlock Holmes-worthy capes, so it’s definitely one of the more sensible trends for our Northern Irish weather.”

Back at the helm of make up trends this season is director Oonagh Boman with her team from Oonagh Boman School of Make Up sponsored by and creating key looks using Senna Cosmetics and Dominia Skincare. Taking inspiration from the international catwalks as well as from the colour palettes of Californian make up brand SENNA, Oonagh’s team will create a mixture of exciting looks to enhance the fashion on show.

Inspiring audiences alongside this creative team is international brand ALFAPARF Milano Professional Haircare, which is sponsoring the event with a fantastic new line-up of hairdressers for AW16. Wenda Davidson from ALFAPARF Milano said: “As an Italian brand, from one of the world’s fashion capitals, Milan, we are delighted to be back on board with West Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK for another season to support this Northern Irish display of fashion, design, beauty and creativity – all central to the Italian way of life. The very best local hair teams will be using our loved ALFAPARF Milano products to create catwalk-worthy looks for some of the best designers and fashion across the country.”

The full show schedule is available online at www.belfastfashionweek.com along with details of this season’s trends plus links to all participant retailers and sponsors. Catwalk tickets, which cost £20 (or £30 for a limited number of exclusive front row seats), are available from the Belfast Welcome Centre on 028 9024 6609 or via the website. Ticket price includes a fabulous goodie bag and a refreshing West Coast Cooler.

The event is called West Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK in the first instance & FASHIONWEEK or Belfast FASHIONWEEK thereafter.

Please also ensure FASHIONWEEK appears in capitals as one word where possible.

Throughout the events, breast cancer charity Pretty‘n’Pink will collect funds at all shows to support women after undergoing debilitating breast cancer surgery or treatment. Action Cancer is the official charity partner for Style Sunday and funds raised with go towards their breast screening for women aged 40-49 and 70+

Schedule of Shows & Events:

THURSDAY 20 October, 8.00PM - DESIGNER BOUTIQUES AND LOCAL DESIGNERS. Tickets priced at £20 or £30 for FROW available from 028 9024 6609 or via www.belfastfashionweek.com

FRIDAY 21 October, 8.00PM - HIGH STREET. Tickets priced at £20 or £30 for FROW available from 028 9024 6609 or via links on www.belfastfashionweek.com

SATURDAY 22 October 12-10pm The People’s Catwalk. Come & learn how to walk like a model, and have hair & make up applied as well as take part in a fashion photoshoot with a top photographer and walk the FASHIONWEEK catwalk. Price = £80 per person to include photography and images afterwards. To book call BFW HQ on 02890421509 or email cathy@cmprireland.com

SATURDAY 22 October 8pm The JuTox Business of Blogging event and fashion show at Life Church. To book call BFW HQ on 02890421509 or email cathy@cmprireland.com